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Post by ASR (therockisback) on May 9, 2023 16:00:18 GMT -5
Take out the injuries then we’d probably see em both put on classics They would have been better for sure!! I always rated Fully Loaded 99...their 1st blood match was well worked. I loved nearly all of their matches… even SummerSlam 98 & Backlash 02 |
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Post by hbkjason on May 10, 2023 0:17:41 GMT -5
I get what people are saying and the matches were not great, but I loved American Badass Undertaker, his match with Triple H at WrestleMania X7 was awesome.
He was certainly more of an attraction up until he started mixing it up with the likes of Mankind, Bret and Shawn, but as a kid I was never bored of all of his matches as he had a real presence about him that carried even some of the worst matches.
I agree that when he returned in 2004, (I still think the most badass he ever looked was standing at the top of the WM20 ramp) his work improved a great deal.
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Post by Back to the Codyverse on May 10, 2023 10:08:51 GMT -5
I think the character along with being a 7’ babyface and working the style in the earlier 90’s really is a blanket statement for how overall lackluster the in ring work was.
His career is a bit heavy on less than stellar ring work but if you take his best working into consideration, he’s a top performer all time. Imo
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Post by cordless2016 on May 10, 2023 14:12:11 GMT -5
Taker is like liquor…better with age. Early on Taker was all about character work. That was his allure. He was an attraction. His in-ring work wasn’t great, but he didn’t have much to work with either in this early years.
As we moved towards the mid-late 90s he started to improve but was still far from great. His matches with Kane, while iconic, were more about the story as the matches themselves weren’t much to write home about. He had a solid first blood match with Austin in 1999, but both agree they never had an all time classic together.
Around 1999 the injuries started piling up and Taker gain a bit of weight. He was slower in the ring again for the next couple of years, and his squash matches during the Invasion angle didn’t help his reputation either.
It was around 2002 that we saw Taker start to shed some weight and shift his in-ring style to match what modern audiences were accustomed to. From here, he only continued to get better, and his best in-ring years IMO were from 2005-2009. Then it was a slow decline due to age after this.
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Post by CM Tusk on May 10, 2023 18:29:16 GMT -5
Eh. It really depended on the opponent. Unfortunately, with his gimmick it sometimes limited him and it sometimes meant he would be booked against guys who really weren’t great in the ring. The matches with Mankind, Michaels, Angle, Orton and Edge banged hard though. He could go. But great matches were only happening like 25% of his career.
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Post by Its Tiffy Time on May 12, 2023 9:05:14 GMT -5
It didnt help they have given him shitty hosses to work with, such as Giant Gonalez, Khali, etc.
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Post by Path 2 Glory on May 12, 2023 10:32:33 GMT -5
It didnt help they have given him crapty hosses to work with, such as Giant Gonalez, Khali, etc. I liked their Punjabi prison match but I know I'm in the few for that. Probably more to do with the first time seeing that match type and seeing two titans beat the hell out of each other as a young kid. Im sure if I watched it back as an adult it would be a hot steaming pile of crap as most Khali matches are. Might just be the nostalgia that makes it work. |
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Post by K5 on May 14, 2023 11:51:14 GMT -5
I do agree with some points. guy was a great overall package though and for his size was a solid worker to say the absolute least.
his ego seems out of control due to insecurities, but if you had your best friend secretly screwing your wife you might just be a bit unreasonable. lol
he’s always reminded me of the horse from Orwell’s Animal Farm
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Post by JokerFC on May 14, 2023 15:13:24 GMT -5
Totally forgot Taker done the j.o.b. big time for Khali.....wasn't that a foot on the chest pin too?
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Post by Back to the Codyverse on May 15, 2023 15:07:15 GMT -5
It didnt help they have given him crapty hosses to work with, such as Giant Gonalez, Khali, etc. I liked their Punjabi prison match but I know I'm in the few for that. Probably more to do with the first time seeing that match type and seeing two titans beat the hell out of each other as a young kid. Im sure if I watched it back as an adult it would be a hot steaming pile of crap as most Khali matches are. Might just be the nostalgia that makes it work. iirc, Khali had elevated liver enzymes and didn’t perform and it was Taker - Big Show in the Punjabi match |
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Post by Path 2 Glory on May 15, 2023 16:58:44 GMT -5
I liked their Punjabi prison match but I know I'm in the few for that. Probably more to do with the first time seeing that match type and seeing two titans beat the hell out of each other as a young kid. Im sure if I watched it back as an adult it would be a hot steaming pile of crap as most Khali matches are. Might just be the nostalgia that makes it work. iirc, Khali had elevated liver enzymes and didn’t perform and it was Taker - Big Show in the Punjabi match You're right it was Batista/Khali I was thinking of. Taker/Khali's feud was mixed up in my head with Khali being pulled out for Big Show. Like I said last time I seen it I was a kid so I'm probably mixing them both up as I don't have any memories of Big Show in one but clearly he was. Almost thought I was having a Mandela effect moment but nope just bad memory. |
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Post by Back to the Codyverse on May 15, 2023 17:14:15 GMT -5
iirc, Khali had elevated liver enzymes and didn’t perform and it was Taker - Big Show in the Punjabi match You're right it was Batista/Khali I was thinking of. Taker/Khali's feud was mixed up in my head with Khali being pulled out for Big Show. Like I said last time I seen it I was a kid so I'm probably mixing them both up as I don't have any memories of Big Show in one but clearly he was. Almost thought I was having a Mandela effect moment but nope just bad memory. Undertaker vs Big Show or Khali in a bamboo chamber of horrors is some WCW 1994 stuff if I’ve ever heard it |
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Butchers
Superstar
Joined on: Jun 26, 2002 5:00:08 GMT -5
Posts: 774
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Post by Butchers on May 17, 2023 15:44:55 GMT -5
When I started watching in 1992, Taker was horrible to watch. His character hindered what he was allowed to do, so therefore his matches suffered. Plus he was given every big man to feud with
Kamala - crap
Giant Gonzalez - even worse
Yokozuna - he was a decent big man, mostly enjoyable
Bundy - like wrestling a potato on legs
Diesel - Mania 12 was good
Then Mankind came along in 96 and they meshed so well. Plus Taker had started to slowly change his style up. More movement in ring
I always thought he and Austin had decent chemistry for the most part. Kane was passable because of the story involved
But Attitude Era Taker stunk. He was beat up.
Biker Taker had good and bad. 2001 was really bad. He didn't do any favours for the WCW guys or himself
Lumbered with Heidenreich, JBL, Khali 04-06. They're not bringing the best of anyone
2007 until 2013 he was prime Taker, as many have said. But also worked with the very best like Edge, HBK and HHH.
After that he should have retired earlier than he did.
Overall, I don't think he's rated as one of the greatest based on in ring alone. It was the whole package. How he managed to evolve over the 30 years was a testament to the man . He will never be forgotten
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on May 18, 2023 11:39:59 GMT -5
Taker vs Brock in 2015 & Shane in 2016 was epic stuff tbh!! Highly underrated.
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